Learning To Love
by TheQueenGirl
Summary: Katniss and Peeta have just started co-teaching at their local middle school where they went to school as teenagers. As they get to know each other, will secrets of the past hold them apart or make the bond stronger? Even though Katniss and Peeta do the teaching, they learn a lot more than expected about love, friendship, and what it's like to love someone after losing loved ones.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my new story! We'll see how the first chapter goes. I have no idea if I'll even continue to the next chapter.**

 **I don't own The Hunger Games.**

Katniss's POV-

I pull my car into one of the last spots in the very small parking lot. The lot is full of some pretty old looking cars, but a few relatively new ones. I guess that's what I get for leaving my old school and coming to teach here at Panem Middle School. This place is one of, if not the most deprived and malnourished towns in the whole country, let alone Maine.

Most of the students here are either struggling to get by with their monetary situation in their families, or are on food stamps and living in a cramped 2 room apartment that has no heat or air-conditioning. Just because the school resides the more unfortunate students doesn't mean that the education isn't top notch. The main reason I resigned my position at another local school was because of the amazing things I had heard about Panem Middle School. The students here are some of the most humble, kind, and caring people you'll ever meet. They wear a smile every day no matter the situation, and help out the community on the days they aren't at school. I want to surround myself with the most optimistic people possible, so I won't feel so bad about my life. People here have been through everything, but they are still smiling and thriving and I think that is an amazing way to live. It doesn't matter what you have, it matters that you make the most out of what you have. Say I have $50 to spend at the grocery store next week. I'll spend every penny if I have to, even if that means that I won't have money for gas that week. It's the mindset that matters.

I grab my few boxes of belongings that were left from my previous classroom and start toward the rundown entrance of the school. I remember that I don't have my swipe key yet, so it will be a challenge to get in despite the fact that the school is full of teachers and administrators. I drop my stuff on the concrete and peer inside. It looks very run down and old. I hope the atmosphere of the school is what I expected. Kind staff, well behaved students, and impressive education and work ethic.

No one is around inside, so I must be late to the meeting that I'm supposed to be attending in 10 minutes. I start banging on the windows, and still, no one answers. Defeated, I consider calling the office and having someone let me in, but how hopeless would that be if someone had to let me in. I just continue to bang on the windows until a really handsome man scurries by, but backtracks to see me hopelessly banging on the windows. He offers a kind smile and I return it. He gives me a confused look, and opens the door.

"You know, you should just use your swipe key… Right?" Which I don't have… The last few weeks have been pretty hectic.

"Nice to meet you too," I peer at his ID around his neck. "Mr. Peeta Mellark." He offers a hand and I take it.

"And you are?"

"Katniss. Katniss Everdeen. I'm the new ELA teacher. 7 and 8." The middle school has an ELA teacher for grade 6, then 7 and 8 are combined.

"Well, I'm Peeta, as you just found out and I'm the new Social Studies teacher. I guess we'll be co-teacher a lot during the school year." Wow, he seems really kind and sincere. I hope he's not just trying to make a good impression. That's what the Social Studies teacher did at my previous school. His name was Gale and he got me to develop quite a crush on him. He humiliated me in front of the staff there because he said some really mean things about me when I wasn't there. Something about how I told the class to tell him to ask me on a date. Apparently the staff thought I was desperate and gave me a lot of shit about it. That's part of the reason why I left.

"It's nice to meet you. Am I late or something? Where is everyone? Isn't there a meeting in 10 minutes?"

"Don't worry, you're right on time! Most people are already at the meeting, so there isn't many around this part of the school right now. I can actually show you where to go if you need help." He is really nice, but I don't want to fall for someone again and have the same thing happen again.

"Oh, okay. I just need to put my stuff down first if that's okay…" My thought waivers off.

"Sure, Katniss. I was just going to ask if you need any help, actually."

"Ummm, yeah, that would be nice." I say shyly. He picks up one of the boxes and motions for me to follow him.

My new room is about 20 feet away from the entrance, which I hope is a good thing. I won't have to walk all the way down the school every morning just to get to my classroom. Peeta sets down the box and takes out his keys and unlocks the door for us. It takes a few tries, seeing that the lock is very old.

I walk in and set my stuff down. The place reeks of mold and garbage, but this is what I get. Anyways, it's not like I'm not used to this. All the way until college, I lived in this little ranch in Panem. It was old, and small, but it was what we had. There wasn't hot water, so we had to boil pots and pots just to take a bath. No showers. The floorboards were rotten and we rarely updated the house or painted. This middle school brings back so many memories of my teenage years, that it feels like home. Even if it's gross, smelly, and probably not up to code, it's where I want to be.

Peeta's POV-

"So this is it!" I say to Katniss as I set her box of things down on a table that almost collapses after bearing the weight. She looks deep in thought and replies.

"I know. I went to school here. This used to be my ELA teacher, Mrs. Smith's room. She just retired, right?"

"Yeah. She and another woman left. The other lady left to teach somewhere else, but Mrs. Smith retired. She was my ELA teacher too, by the way."

It's crazy how the we still call the teachers we used to have by their 'teacher' name, not their first name. We're adults and now teaching too, but the respect for them is still in our hearts.

"What year did you graduate? And, I'm sorry I haven't been here to help you set up our rooms, I have been having some family issues I have been dealing with these past few weeks."

"I graduated in 2009." I say, hoping she's not way older than me or something. "Seriously Katniss, there's only been 3 weeks of summer vacation already. We'll still have time to set up the cluster." I secretly hope she'll tell me all of her alleged, "issues" and I can talk them through with her. All I want to do right now is stay here and talk to her.

"I was in class of 2010. Anyways Peeta, I know, but I feel bad. I mean, we're both new here and I don't want to appear all laid-back and lazy. I should've been here, but I had things to deal with. I didn't realize that the room would already be set up." I secretly congratulate myself that she's not completely out of my league!

"It's no problem, seriously. I enjoy setting things like this up. I just happen to have a lot of free time on my hands." It's true. I don't really have any family to tend to.

"I just feel like shit, being new here and making you set all of this stuff up. I wanted to make a good impression here and come into this community well respected, and I just want to make sure, you know," She's rambling now. "That I do what's required of me and more and I want to be a good teacher and friend, but I don't know how to be that person if I'm going to be an emotional mess all of the time…" I drown out her rambling and cut her off.

"Katniss, we're co-teachers. I have to do some of the work, not all of it. You brought your stuff to be sorted through." I step close to her. "Plus, we'll be spending a lot of time together during the school year. I don't want to make you feel like you have to be here every day of the week getting work done. It's called summer for a reason!"

"Can I just hug you right now because that is literally the nicest thing I have heard in the last three weeks. I have so much going on, and you're already making me feel better!" She perked up after I told her that, which makes me feel really good inside. Before I can continue that thought, her arms are around my neck and she's hugging me.

It starts as a friendly hug, not an intimate one, but soon she melts into me, and her head fits right into my shoulder perfectly. I pull her tighter and I can feel her smile into my neck. With her breasts rubbing against my shirt tightly and stomach rubbing against my area, I start to feel a little blood flow right down to my crotch. I start to pull away, but she whispers into my ear, tickling the hairs, "Peeta Mellark, are you getting a boner!?"

I jump away, embarrassed, but I shoot back "It's not like I initiated the oddly intimate hug that just happened!" I try to think of something to get me to calm down, so I start thinking about the faculty meeting we are going to soon, but the image of Katniss pops into my head.

"Well, I guess you aren't the ugliest man I've ever met. I think you rank somewhere between Justin Bieber and Donald Trump," she teases.

"I think you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen. I'm not teasing, I'm dead serious." If I'm going to get a boner at the absolute worst time possible, at least let me embrace it.

Katniss blushes, and says "Today, I didn't expect to meet a really hot guy who I'm probably going to be teaching with for the next 40 years." I honestly don't know where my confidence is coming from, or hers. I haven't really had much time for girls in my life.

"I didn't expect to meet a girl that is impossibly beautiful. I also didn't expect to be getting a boner…" I look down at my tented gym shorts.

Katniss just laughs nervously, and starts playing with her hands. I didn't mean to make her nervous.

"You know, the only reason this thing between my legs is acting up is because you are really beautiful. I don't get excited over just any girl."

"Thanks, Peeta, but you don't need to say that. Once you really get to know me, you'll run away just like all of the other guys I've liked. I'm not who you think. I'm just a shy girl with stupid insecurities about herself." Okay, I talk back what I said about her being confident.

"I feel like your therapist right now! Be confident with yourself. Someone who openly admits they have insecurities or problems are 10 times stronger than the people who keep them inside. They other guys just don't know you right, then. Someone will come around." I hope the person that comes around is me, and I hope Katniss can infer that.

"I just feel like you are way to nice to be a friend of mine. You should see some of the friends I've had… There's Finnick who just wanted to use me for sex. Then there's Gale who showed me off just to impress other girls, then humiliated me in front of my teacher friends. Oh, and-" I cut her off, and press my lips to hers. I hope that wasn't a rookie mistake.

She's stiff at first, and it's really awkward. I nudge her on the back to try to get her to respond. She slowly warms up to my pace and starts to put her hands in my hair. She shoves her tongue into my mouth, but I'm not complaining. She tastes like vanilla and sugar and I start to moan. I can't believe that we just met. I snake my hands around her back and instinctively put them right above where the curve of her ass starts.

The feeling of her lips on mine is so warm and soft, and I can tell I'm going to have lipstick all over my face when I'm done kissing her. I start to pull away so I can breathe and she just starts kissing down my cheek into my neck. My boner is in full force, and I can't help but think that Katniss and I are going to be really good friends. Or more than friends. But first, the faculty meeting.

 **Did you make it through?! I know, it's pretty bad.**

 **By no means am I a writer, so I have a lot of learning to do, so please don't make me feel that bad... I'm open to any suggestions (god help me) or comments, so PLEASE leave a review!**

 **I have a general outline of how I want the story to go, but it'll depend on a lot of things. My school starts next week, so I won't have a lot of time to write from then on. It takes me a while to put the chapter into word form, if you know what I mean. I want the details to be perfect.**

 **And, this is my first story ever so I have no idea what the response will be like... If at least a few people read it, I'll probably post another chapter. I have no idea how long this story will be, so just hang with me for a while! The next chapter could be up tomorrow, or in a month, or never. We'll just have to see.**

 **Thanks!  
Don't forget to smile! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2 for all of you who read chapter 1! I frantically wrote today to try to get this up!**

Katniss-

The past three weeks went by in a blur. We got more of our cluster setup and it's really starting to look like a classroom for kids to learn in. Today we are labeling desks with names and going through our school supplies we bought yesterday at the store together. Going in ahead of time, I know half of the kids won't even have any school supplies for the school year. I'll end up supplying most of the items for them.

Moving on, Peeta wise, after our little moment, nothing really has happened between us. We've shared a few moments, but not like any more kissing.

I have to admit, I was a little creeped out by his boner, but it was normal for guys. I just hope I didn't embarrass him too much. We seem to be getting along quite nicely, on a positive note!

"Kat," Oh yeah, he started calling me that. It's cute isn't it? "Where did all those pencils go that we got? I can't find them in any bags…"

"No, Peeta, they're over here. I have them. I was just going to put them in the supply closet right now."

"Oh, okay. Do you know where the looseleaf paper went? I just had it!"

"I have it too, right here. Why don't you start packing up your stuff and I'll finish putting all this stuff away." God, he can be so oblivious sometimes but so cute at the same time.

"Wait, Katniss have you seen my phone? I just had it a minute ago!"

"Do you know where anything is?!" I walk over to where his phone is, but just as I am about to pick it up, it chimes, and the name "Rye" pops up on the screen with the message "Did u ask Katniss out yet!?" I tense up, but then remember that Peeta and I are friends. "Peeta, why did a person named Rye just text you and ask if you asked me out yet?" I barely manage to choke that out. Sure, Peeta is really handsome, but I don't really think I'm ready for a relationship right now. Like I said, Gale was pretty much the death of me, and I don't want that to happen again. If I say yes to the date with Peeta and after a few dates things don't work out, how awkward would it be all year if I had to co-teach with him? That's pretty scary to think about.

"Oh boy" He mumbles and awkwardly walks over to me. I still have a death grip on his phone, and he practically rips it out of my hand. "You weren't supposed to see that." He says through clenched teeth.

"Why are you so angry, Peeta?" I quickly decided to play dumb and act like I have no idea that it's me that Peeta wants.

"You have no idea, do you, Katniss?! My brother just ruined it for me!" He says loudly.

"What are you talking about? I don't know how he ruined it for you. Just say you haven't asked me out yet." This is really hard to decipher in my head. Do I go on a date with him and risk it being incredibly awkward, or do I say no, and make it even more awkward knowing that I rejected him?

"Why don't I just give Rye here a little call… Excuse me for a minute please. If you hear shouting, it's just me.

Thank god that there is no one else here besides us today. It's Saturday, and most of the teachers are out with their families. Other teachers just don't come in on the weekends most of the time.

Peeta strolls outside with the phone and angrily dials "Rye's" number. I still have no clue who the guy is, except for that he's Peeta's brother.

I don't really understand why he is so upset. All of the other times I've been

asked out, it's been by a one liner text or a phone call. Not even in person. Just having him here is one step above everything else. I don't want Peeta to be disappointed or anything because it would put both of us in a bad mood even if we did go on a date. But wait, I don't even know if it's me. But it has to be me. I'm pretty sure I'm the only Katniss he knows.

I still don't really know if I'll say yes or not. For most girls it's like an easy yes or no. You either like the guy and want to go out with him, or don't like him and don't want to go out with him. I like Peeta, but I'm not ready to go out with him. I have my decision ready, I just don't know if I'll be able to actually say that.

Apparently Rye picks up, and Peeta starts animatedly talking to him through the phone. I hear shouting, but it sounds all mumbled, so I creep towards the slightly ajar door.

"Rye! She saw my fucking phone! She totally knows now!" Peeta spits. Rye says something back that Peeta really doesn't like.

"That's shit Rye, you ruin everything for me! You kill my family in a car accident, you take my money and clothes, and you're drunk more often than you are sober! It doesn't matter if you're sorry, you ruined my whole chance to surprise her. Now she's just eavesdropping on me, hoping to hear what I'm talking about with you!"

A car accident? He never said anything about that. I'm kinda shocked to hear that he has trauma of the past too. Someone as cute as him usually hides all of their demons of the past and doesn't tell anyone about it. It's really difficult to openly say that, knowing that I'm eavesdropping on him.

He clenches his fists and screams "Fuck off, Rye! I don't ever want to see your ugly ass face again!" He ends the call and I run out to hug him. He's slumped down near a wall, looking very pale. He sets the phone down and hugs me back. It's uncomfortable to be sitting while hugging, so we stand up.

"I'm so sorry, Peeta. I didn't realize how much this meant to you. I wouldn't have read it if I knew it would hurt you this much! I feel horrible."

Apparently all of Peeta's anger has resided, and he replies. " Kat, it's fine. Rye's just a big baby all of the time. He gets into someone's business and won't stop until someone blows up on him like I did." He kisses the top of my head.

"Is he going to leave you alone now? I don't want him making you angry all of the time, because honestly, I really love the Peeta I've gotten to know." I smile and he smiles wearily back.

"That's really kind of you to say, Katniss, but he's not going to leave us alone until the day I die, or he dies."

"So you want to be with me, then?" Hopefully he says yes because I suddenly feel like I want to go on a date with him.

"Yeah, I do. I was trying to get you to agree to a romantic dinner at my apartment, so I had this scavenger hunt set up at various locations across the school. I was hoping that after we were done, you would see the note taped to your purse, and you could do the scavenger hunt." He rips a note off of the wall, apparently where the first clue led to. "Rye obviously ruined it for us though." He says shyly.

"That is the sweetest thing I think I've ever heard. Peeta, no one ever does this for me. I've had some pretty stupid boyfriends before."

"Kat, do you want to go out with me? You deserve the kindest, most romantic guy on earth, and I can give that to you if you would just let me." Do I really say yes, or do I say that I just want to hang out and be friends? It's quite obvious that he wants to be more than friends, so I'm really in a draw between the two. I think for Peeta, though, it's worth the risk.

"Yes, Peeta. I'll go on a date with you. It's pretty obvious that we're attracted to each other and I don't want to keep forcing friendship for any longer."

"Really? Even after what you heard about me when I was talking with Rye? I thought that would scare you away!"

"That just gives me another reason to love you." Where is this stupid sappy love stuff coming from? I'm not a romantic person, but Peeta just has that impact on me, I guess.

He presses his forehead to mine and says, "I don't know if this relationship will work out, but I want you to know that I'm always going to be here for you if you need me."

I laugh and say "I know, Peeta, but I'm not really that good at romance. I don't know how to be in a healthy relationship"

"We'll just have to figure it out. When are you available?"

"Prim starts physical therapy next week. I have to take her every day until she gets situated. And she still can't drive and won't be able to for a while. I'm free tonight and tomorrow night." Prim, my sister, tore her ACL almost a year ago ago when my mom, her, and myself were moving her into her dorm room in college. We were trying to lift her desk and move it out of the very skinny doors. We were going to turn it so it would fit in the doorway, so we started tilting at, and shifting our legs, but Prim's knee buckled. She ended up having surgery on it, which costed a fortune, and now she's starting physical therapy now that the crutches are no longer necessary and she's out of her brace. The injury led to a bunch of other financial issues in our family, which I'll get to in a while.

Peeta says, "I'm free tonight and tomorrow. Rye has a bunch of doctor appointments during the weeks and I need to make sure he is sober enough to go to them."

"Tonight, then? I don't know how much longer I can wait to go on a date with you." Where is this scandalous behavior coming from, Katniss?! Where is this confidence coming from too!?

I swear if this was happening a year ago, I would be some bottled up bitch that would reject Peeta the second the words came out of his mouth. I wouldn't even have expected to even be going on a date if I was Katniss from a year ago. A lot of things have happened since then.

I was humiliated by Gale, the man who I had a crush on and spend almost 180 school days standing by and teaching with. I thought we liked each other and I thought we were soulmates. That was until Gale humiliated me, like I said. He made sure that he knew that I wanted to go on a date. He emailed the whole staff saying that I told my students to tell Mr. Hawthorne (Gale) to ask me out. The teachers didn't want to actually ask the students, so I was threatened to tell the principal that what Gale emailed to the school was true. I owned up to what I DIDN'T do, then resigned from the school. I promised myself that I wouldn't have another silly crush and lose another perfectly good teaching job. Today, I broke my own promise, and decided to go on a date. Two weeks after that, I applied for a job at Panem Middle school. I got the job, and met Peeta. That's all I know for right now, and I couldn't be happier.

"I guess we can have dinner tonight. I'm prepared for whenever you are available. I just don't want you to feel rushed. I can wait until next weekend if you want to wait a while."

"I would like to have a date tonight, please!"

"Okay, then! I'll have dinner ready at 6 at my place?" I glance at my FitBit. It's 3:41 right now.

"That sounds perfect!" I smile. "Can I have your address?"

"Yeah, here." He shows me his address on his phone screen. I copy it down into my contacts.

"Can I have your phone number too? So we can text."

"Sure, Kat. It's right there above my address." I hope things work out with Peeta, and it's not going to turn into another breakup story where I gain 10 pounds by eating ice cream and don't leave my apartment for a weeks because I'm sad. Hopefully, none of that will happen. Something about Peeta makes me hopeful, though.

Peeta's POV- 5:50 P.M.

Tonight for our date, I've just finished making a perfect dinner of coated pork chops in the oven and green beans and side salad. It looks perfect for a first date. Not too romantic, but not fast food. (I've gone on some pretty lame dates on my past!) The island is set, and the candles are lit.

I turn off the stove and begin to pour some wine, when I hear soft knocking at the door. I turn around and practically run to the door. When I open it, I see Katniss dressed in a simple, but sexy pink dress with a tan sweater. It stops right above her knees and she's wearing black and gold flats. The best part is the neckline that's a v-neck. It dips down just low enough to see a little cleavage, but covers her shoulders up.

"Already staring at my boobs, huh?" I look up, embarrassed, and gesture for her to come in.

"Just looking at my beautiful date." I take her sweater from her and put in on the coat rack. "Do you want something to drink? I have a lot of things in the refrigerator, or we can steal some alcohol from Rye. He should be passed out by eight."

"I'm good right now. So this is the place, huh? It's really nice and cozy in here." I started renting the place about 2 years ago when I graduated college. I live with Rye, but he's never around, except for the night that I have a date. I couldn't really get him out of the house- he's way hungover from an all nighter with some girl that's still in highschool. I have no idea why he's not going out again, but I made him promise that he wouldn't disturb Katniss and I.

"Yeah. I rent it out with Rye, but I pay most of the rent. He doesn't exactly have a job at the moment."

"Oh. So is he here right now?"

"Yes, he's here, but he promised me that he wouldn't ruin the date. Apparently, he feels bad about what he did, but I told him I would break his face if he barged in on us." Katniss laughs and I feel a little more at ease. I'm still not convinced that Rye isn't going to bother us.

"That would be really funny to see you do that. I still haven't met the guy yet, but he sounds like quite the character."

"Trust me, you don't want to know him. Once he sees you, he won't leave you alone. I'm serious. But don't worry, he won't bother us." I hope.

"Thanks. So what are we having? I smell vegetables!"

"Don't worry, I made some green beans. I also baked some pork chops and threw together some salad." I hope the pork turned out good. I spent an hour coating them and baking them to perfection.

"Whatever it tastes like, it smells really good!"

"I'll get us some food in a second. Why don't you sit?" I pull a chair out of the island for her to sit, and she graciously takes it.

She takes out her phone to text and smiles. I take that as my cue to get the food. I bring over all of the salad, but fill two plates of pork and green beans and set them near the salad. The wine finishes getting poured, and that gets set on the table too. Katniss smiles again and looks up at me.

"What?" I say.

"Nothing, it's just that my sister is worrying about me. She thinks I'm really nervous about this date. Yes, I'm nervous, but she literally just asked if I had armpit stains." She lifts her arms up, to show me she isn't sweating. "But, no. I'm not that nervous."

"Well, don't be. There's nothing to be worried about; but if you are uncomfortable, just tell me and we can work something out. I want you to feel welcomed into my apartment, not like you're in McDonalds."

"That's really sweet, Peeta. I'll tell you if I'm uncomfortable, but first, let's eat! I'm starving!"

We dig in, and chat. I'm heavily relieved because there's tons of stuff to chat about. I was worried that it would be awkward the whole time. I don't exactly have the best social skills. Oddly enough, Katniss does most of the talking, which is totally fine by me.

We talk about Prim and how she tore her ACL just lifting a desk, but Katniss reassures me that they were just moving too fast and she lost balance. She's really excited for Prim to start physical therapy even though it will be really expensive. It's not fun to have to drive someone around for almost a year because they can't use one of their legs. She also tells me about Gale, which really surprises me because one the first rules of dating is to never talk about ex boyfriends or girlfriends, but Gale sounds like a soulless troll that hated Katniss. I have a lot of things that I would say to Gale if I ever meet him, but I would prefer to keep them to myself for right now. I can tell that she's trying to get something else off of her chest, but she can't really find the words to say it. I don't want to push her to say something, but I don't want her to feel like she can't talk to me. It's not like I don't have secrets that I haven't told her yet, anyways. She starts to pause after each sentence she says, urging me to start talking again. I almost start telling her about the car accident that killed my family, but I don't want to ruin our night. I guess that's why she doesn't want to talk about her past, too.

"So Prim is 20, right? She's going to be a junior?" I try to get the conversation away from the serious stuff, and try to get her to laugh a little.

"Yeah. She goes to University of Maine."

"Did she get a scholarship to go there? That's a really good school, especially for someone coming from such a poor community." UOM is a very expensive school that focuses mainly on healthcare and other assorted professions like becoming a therapist or social worker.

"Prim actually plays soccer, but that dream kind of got crushed after the injury. She is going to college to become a pediatrician, but she got a scholarship for soccer. Even though their soccer program sucks, it was the best financial option because they offered her a half scholarship for all four years." Prim must be really good at soccer if they offered her that much of a scholarship.

"So she basically got hurt, and still gets to go to school there for half price?!"

"Yeah. The soccer program hopes she comes back for her senior year, but she technically doesn't have to play anymore because as long as she's going to physical therapy, her doctor won't sign off on any papers. And Prim has the ultimate decision in addition to that."

"That sounds like a really complicated process. Does she plan on playing again, or is she done for good?"

"From what I can tell, she hopes to play again. After therapy is over there's a lot of training that has to be done to get back in shape for the season, so that'll all depend on how long she's at therapy. Prim's agreed to not rush her recovery, but we're not going to take forever to get her walking again."

"What do you mean by 'we'? Isn't your mom in charge?" Katniss breaks eye contact and looks around nervously. Bad subject, I guess,

"My mom doesn't exactly take care of us. We just moved her into my apartment, actually. That's why I wasn't available those first two weeks of summer. She wasn't really able to live on her own anymore, plus we really needed the money from selling our house. I'm kind of in charge of our finances and money..." She seems like she recovered from her moment of panic.

"Sorry Kat, I didn't really mean to bring that up. I just thought that your mom would do that stuff for you. You're really tough aren't you?" You're really tough? What the hell is that, Peeta?!

"It's okay, I just am not used to talking about that stuff. It's nice for a change. Why don't we go watch T.V. or something? It'll get our minds off of the serious stuff." I pretty much failed at doing that, so I think that's a good idea to try to relax.

"Sure. I have some movies, but the good stuff is on demand." We walk over to the living room and I flick on the TV. "I'm going to make popcorn. Want to pick out a movie?"

"Yeah, that would be perfect actually."

In a few minutes, the popcorn is made, and Katniss has decided we are going to watch the new Star Wars movie. We snuggle together on the couch, but it's kind of difficult to because Katniss has a dress on. She could take it off, but I don't really think we're ready for that yet in our relationship.

We're about 20 minutes into the movie when Katniss whispers into my ear, "You said Rye would be passed out by eight, right?" What exactly does she have in mind?

"Yeah. He's probably drunk again."

"Do you have any whipped cream?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a camera?"

"I have two gopros."

"Do you want to pull a prank on Rye?"

"Yes. Let's go."

I pull her into the kitchen and hand her a can of whipped cream. She giggles, and I hope she realizes how loud Rye is going to scream when he wakes up.

"His room is right here." I peer in, and sure enough, he is passed out on the bed. The place smells like beer and sweat, the classic Rye scent. Katniss follows me into the room, and makes a gagging motion with her mouth. He's laying on the bed on his back, not even under the sheets. Katniss sprays some of the whipped cream into her mouth first, and we smile at each other. The rest of it ends up on Rye's hands.

We run out into the kitchen and I say "I feel like little kids again! This is really fun!"

"I know!"

"Now we need to blast some rap song and stomp around."

"Won't that disturb your neighbors? They are probably winding down for the night."

"The guy above me is deaf, and the five kids next door are loud enough. We'll be fine. I'll get me speaker out, you find a good song on my phone."

Katniss picks "Work" by Rihanna and Drake, and the bluetooth connects almost immediately. We crank it up, and go into Rye's room and jump on his bed and stomp around until he starts stirring. My gopros are all set up on the dresser and bed, just waiting for action. We run out when he starts squirming, and crank the music up even louder.

"PEETA MELLARK, WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" Rye's up. Time for Katniss to meet my brother.

"Wait, it'll be really funny if you go in there instead of me. He'll think he passed out at a strip club or something!"

Katniss agrees with a nod of her head because it's very difficult to talk over the loud music. She goes in there, flips her hair, then sits on the bed, revealing her black lacy panties. Rye whoops and yells and jumps on Katniss, and I run in and yell "Rye, what are you doing to my girlfriend!?"

He looks at me and says "Come join the fun brotha!" Katniss grins at me, silently approving of the word 'girlfriend.'

For a few minutes, Rye still thinks he's at the club, but he eventually realizes he is in his own bedroom. I turn the music down, and say "Rye, this is my girlfriend, Katniss. She wanted to prank you after you ruined my surprise."

He looks at me and says "Her? Wow, she's pretty hot!" Katniss blushes, and I hope she realizes that Rye is obviously drunk.

"Hey buddy, you got a little something on your face." Katniss says. Rye licks the whipped cream, and runs out to the living room to watch Star Wars.

"So this is goodbye? I'll see you on Monday, right? I think you need to clean this mess up that Rye made." Katniss sadly says.

"I'm sorry our date got kind of cut short. I had a great time, but I don't know about you."

She smiles at me, then says "That was the most fun I've had in a really long time."

"Me too, Kat. I haven't really had much of a social life since I started teaching."

Then, she kisses me. Her lips are warm and familiar, and I remember our first kiss again like it just happened. She adds her tongue into the kiss, and her arms go up my back and into my hair. I pull her closer once again and start massaging her head. This time, I try not to get hard again even though it was pretty funny. I don't think Katniss would appreciate it.

It's perfect until Rye says "It's getting really quiet in there, what are you doing!?" We pull away started, and curse under my breath.

Even though the best I can do right now is a ridiculously drunk brother that is at the bar 5 days a week, and a girlfriend with a hidden past, I'll take those two people any day over a picture perfect family. Even though I'm not in the most ideal situation right now, I'm happy, and that's all that matters.

 **Did you make it through? Kudos to you if you read 2 chapters of my** **story!**

 **As you can tell, I have switched some roles around. Rye is now alcoholic, unlike the books where he is a very minor character. Apparently Prim is going to have an injury and be a soccer player in this fan fiction story too. I just started writing, and didn't realize how different the characters were from the books. It just kind of happened that way.**

 **Thanks!  
Don't forget to smile!**

 **P.S.- Sorry if there is a lot of grammatical errors, I just don't feel like editing right now. It is literally 11:30 at night. I just wanted to get another chapter up.**


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